IPPLEPEN PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of Meeting held at Ipplepen Millennium Centre
On Tuesday 5th March 2024 at 7.15pm
The following minutes will be considered for approval at the next Parish Council Meeting and may be subject to change until that time.
In attendance:
Coun.Palethorpe (Chairman) Coun.Carnell (Vice Chair)
Coun.Latter Coun.Burnham
Coun.Smith Coun.Rattlidge
Coun.Jerwood Coun.Ranjit
Coun.Mrs.Calland Coun.Farrow
Miss Cat Freston – Parish Clerk
Coun.Palethorpe District Councillor
Coun.Dewhirst – County Councillor
Three Members of the public present
133) APOLOGIES – No Apologies.
134) DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST – No declaration of interest.
135) MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING
Minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 6th February 2024, were approved and signed by the Chairman.
136) PUBLIC QUESTION TIME
A parishioner is concerned about the safety of the fencing at the rear of St Mary’s place, at Tremlett Grove. The land is currently owned by Belfield and the parishioner has spoken to them about the lack of fencing by the stream and they have said they are waiting for a Management group before anything can be done. Action – The parishioner and the Parish Clerk will write to the Health and Safety Executive.
Clerk to contact Belfield about the maintenance of the stream in the future.
A parishioner spoke about the land at Tremlett Grove which is causing flooding to their property.
Coun.Dewhirst registered his objections to the Planning Application for the felling of two mature oak trees at Fermoys Garden Centre and Farm Shop, Totnes Road which will be discussed under item 7 on the agenda.
Coun.Palethorpe proposed to move agenda item 12 before agenda item 5 as there were members of the public present, seconded by Coun.Carnell (Agreed unanimously).
144) DEED OF RELEASE – TREMLETT GROVE
The Parish Council agreed to seek legal advice from their Solicitor before signing the Deed of Release.
137) CORRESPONDENCE AND OUTSIDE BODIES – Parish Clerk
- a) Devon Air Ambulance have emailed to let the Parish Council know that the annual re-survey of the site will take place on Wednesday 6th March 2024. DAA would like to thank the Parish Council and the community for all the help and support given to them which enables the safe night-time landing sites for the benefit of their patients across Devon.
- b) A Parishioner has emailed about the poor condition along Moor Road. It is due to be resurfaced but have not been given a road closure date as yet from DCC. Coun.Dewhirst has been liaising with the Parishioner.
- c) An email was received in October 2023 about the possibility of having seating in the bus stop opposite Cooke Drive. The Clerk has emailed the company who installed the bus shelter and has only just received a response. There are two possible seating options. One is a bench seat at £900.00 + VAT and the other is a perch seat at £500.00 + VAT.
Coun.Carnell Proposed to purchase a bench seat at £900.00 + VAT, Seconded by Coun.Rattlidge. 7 in favour, 2 against, 1 abstention. Action – Clerk to order a new bench seat for the bus shelter.
Coun.Rattlidge attended a Councillor Advocate Scheme on 12th February 2024 at Middlemoor, Exeter.
138) DISTRICT & COUNTY COUNCILLOR’S REPORT
District Report – Coun.Palethorpe
On the 27th February Teignbridge District Council passed the Budget for 2024/2025. Against the well publicised background of reduce Government funding to Local Authorities.
The budget in summary.
Increase Council Tax by 2.99% which is £5.74 for the year
Frozen the Green Waste Charge at £55.00
Maintained 100% Council Tax relief for those most in need
Introduced a Blue Badge Permit which allows holders to park in any of the Teignbridge District Car Parks.
Continue to provide essential financial support the Voluntary Sector, CAB, CVS and Newton Abbot Community Transport
The full budget is available on the Teignbridge District Council website.
The Council agreed to confirm that the redevelopment and pedestrianisation of Queen Street, Newton Abbot funded by the Government backed Future High Street Funding (FHSF) will proceed as planned.
Development Plans for the upgrade of the Market Hall and Market Square including the Post Office being brought back into use as a mini-market Hall during the upgrade are currently being progressed.
TDC are looking for residents from a range of backgrounds to attend a two hour workshop during April to discuss how services they delivered can be better provided. Ipplepen is one of the Venues and the event will take place in the Village Hall on Wednesday 17 April from 10am to 12 noon. I would encourage residents to attend and feedback on how you would like to see services delivered.
Want to help shape your council’s future?
Do you live, work or study in Teignbridge and would like to help shape future decisions of your district council?
If your answer is yes, there’s a great opportunity to have your say on how we can improve things for your local community and the services we provide.
Why not sign up to take part in an April ‘One Teignbridge’ resident workshop and help shape our future plans on how we deliver services and community support in the coming years.
We’re looking for residents from different backgrounds to join us at one of our two-hour workshops across the district. You’ll be able to have your say on what it’s like to live, work or study in Teignbridge and on how it can be made better.
And as a thank you for taking part we’ll send you a £25 Love2Shop gift voucher.
So, grab this opportunity to influence the future of Teignbridge by completing this availability survey by next Friday (8 March) and let us know which workshop(s) you’re able / would like to attend. The results of these workshops, along with feedback from business owners and community leaders, will help us create a long-term plan to deliver the services our residents and communities want and need, and tackle some of the issues our district faces.
I was very pleased this month in my role as Executive Member to sign off approval for work to install three Disability Changing Places which will be sited in Decoy Park, Dawlish Warren and Dawlish in time for the Summer Season.
Changing Places facilities are much larger than the usual Disability Changing Rooms with pedestal toilets that are at least one metre away from walls allowing greater access to carers and for wheelchair. In addition the facilities are fitted with specialist hoists and adult size changing tables.it will allow access to public spaces and will cater for those with severe disabilities so they don’t have to experience the indignity, discomfort, embarrassment, through not having a suitable changing place.
David Palethorpe
Teignbridge District Councillor for Ipplepen
david.palethorpe@teignbridge.gov.uk
County Report – Coun.Dewhirst
Devon County have agreed a 4.99% increase in council tax for the coming financial year – 2224/25. It comprises 2.99% for general services with an extra 2% for adult care. It means an extra £1.56 a week for the average Band D householder.
There will be increases of 10.4% in spending on children’s services, 6% on adult services and 4.7% on climate change, environment and transport.
Councillors also agreed an extra £1.5 million to boost regular road drainage since the target budget was set last month to tackle the increase in potholes caused by this winter’s heavy rainfall. There will also be £716,000 extra to bring the homelessness budget back up to £1.45 million to support the work of district councils and homeless organisations for another year.
Devon’s revenue spending on services will increase from just under £700 million to £743 million in 2024/25. That’s an overall rise of 6.3 per cent in spending.
In addition, councillors approved a capital budget of over £155 million for investment in infrastructure such as schools and roads.
The council tax for an average Band D home will rise by £81.54 to £1,715.67 – an extra £1.56 a week.
The budget was approved by 34 votes to 14. I however, did not vote for this Budget, preferring the Opposition Lib Dem motion to add a further £1.5million for pothole repairs, £1/2 million for white lining and an additional £60,000 for Libraries Unlimited to help them increase Community Library provision – this amendment was voted down by the Conservatives.
The Council are inviting families, professionals and community organisations to help shape services that support young families. It follows a national move, announced by the Government last year, for Children’s Centres to become Family Hubs, as part of its Start for Life Programme initiative.
In Devon that means extending the age range, from current services that deliver targeted support to 0 to 8 year-olds, to future services that provide targeted and universal support to 0 to 19 year-olds, or up to 25 year-old young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. It would mean a wider range of services than at present, including support from local community groups, working together to help young families.
The council commissions the charity Action for Children to run Children’s Centres in Devon on their behalf. The charity is already working with neighbouring Plymouth and Torbay councils to help their transition, and now they’re working with Devon County Council to do the same.
Exactly which services will be integrated into a Family Hub will very much depend on the needs of local families. But the kind of services that families could access include early years services and education; Public Health Nursing and Midwifery services; activities delivered by local groups; drug, alcohol and domestic abuse support; mental health support and youth services.
Family Hubs will be located in areas of greatest need, with outreach services extending from them into local communities.
The consultation is at https://www.devon.gov.uk/haveyoursay/consultations/family-hubs-engagement/
A six-week public consultation was launched on Monday 12th February on the draft proposal to create a Combined County Authority (CCA) for Devon and Torbay to oversee new powers and funding transferred from Government.
The ground-breaking devolution deal announced by the Levelling Up Minister last month, proposes to create the CCA, which would be a formal partnership of elected members drawn from the councils of Devon and Torbay, including district councils, together with representatives from business and education.
People are being invited to have their say on how the CCA would work, the powers that it would have and the functions it would be responsible for. These include investment in local economic growth, delivering affordable housing, improving public transport, and meeting net zero ambitions.
Further information about our joint consultation with Torbay Council and details of how to respond are available at www.devontorbaydeal.org.uk
More than 10,000 trees are being planted this winter through the first season of our newly awarded Local Authority Treescapes Fund. The community planting scheme is being rolled out across Devon this winter with the help of local not-for-profit social enterprise ParkLife South West. This is being carried out alongside the planting of 2,250 trees this winter by landowners and communities who applied to the Free Tree scheme.
It’s the third and final year that we have received support for the scheme through the Emergency Tree Fund granted by The Woodland Trust. Since Devon first piloted the Free Tree Scheme in 2019, and combining all of the tree planting initiatives, we have planted just over 48,000 trees in total as part of ongoing efforts to meet the carbon net zero targets by 2030.
Finally, after months of work, the Teignmouth Hospital closure Standing Overview Group, of which I was a member, presented its report to the Health and Adult Care Committee recommending re-referral to the Secretary of State. This was within days of that power being removed from the committee by legislation. Sadly, the Committee declined to refer after the Conservative Group blocked the move. This represents the latest small hospital that the Council has effectively written off despite local opposition.
Alistair Dewhirst – alistair.dewhirst@devon.gov.uk
139) PLANNING – Coun.Farrow
The Minutes of the Plans Meeting held on 21st February 2024 were approved and taken as read.
District Councillor, Coun.Palethorpe is on the Planning Committee for TDC, so will not comment or vote on any Planning Applications discussed below.
To consider the following planning applications:
24/00167/TPO – 4425 Mature Ash Tree – Fell, 4443 mature oak – Fell, 4445 mature oak – Fell at Fermoys Garden Centre and Farm Shop, Totnes Road.
Comment: Coun.Farrow proposed Ipplepen Parish council object to this application until further clarification as to the reasons why to break the TPO and carry out works to the trees. Seconded by Coun.Carnell. (All Unanimous).
140) AMENITIES – Coun.Carnell
The Minutes of the Amenities meeting held on 13th February 2024, were approved and taken as read.
- Amenities report – Minutes from Amenities meeting.
- Refurbishment of Clampitt Road toilets.
Two quotations have been received and were discussed.
- RESOLUTION:Carnell proposed to accept Tender B, Seconded by Coun.Smith and agreed unanimously at £40,248.00 including VAT.
The contractor is Sam Davies Plumbing and Building Ltd.
- Skate Park removal – Coun.Palethorpe proposed to delegate to the Chairman of amenities to arrange the removal, seconded by Coun.Farrow (All unanimous).
- Emergency Plan – Coun.Ranjit, Coun.Palethorpe and the Clerk will meet to update.
- Grounds Maintenance Service – Coun.Palethorpe and the Clerk will meet next week to discuss and put the tender package together ready to present to the full Parish Council meeting on 2nd April 2024.
141) FINANCE & PERSONNEL – Coun.Smith
Balance No. £ 49,439.50
MCMC – Reimbursement for electricity £ 56.62
Allotment Tenants – Rent £ 120.00
Balance £ 49,616.12
Invoices Received and Approved: £ 7,168.91
Balance £ 42,447.21
Reserve Account Balance £ 165,700.47
£ 208,147.68
Items to discuss:
- a) As we are coming up to the Year end, the Clerk would like approval to move £28,450.00 into the reserve account before the next Precept is due in April 2024.
Coun.Smith proposed, seconded by Coun.Palethorpe. (All unanimous).
142) HIGHWAYS & RIGHTS OF WAY – Coun.Smith
- a) Coun.Smith reported that the A381 is flooding coming into Ipplepen from Newton Abbot. The water is running out of the drain and running down the hill.
- b) Drainage has been put along the A381 by Southern Timber.
- c) Coun.Smith will be carrying out the P3 Inspections.
- d) To consider the quotes received for two finger posts.
Three quotations have been received and it was agreed to postpone until quotes have been received for the VASS (Vehicle activated Speed Signs).
143) SKATE PARK WORKING PARTY
Proposal – Wheeled Sports
In order to progress the Wheeled Sports Facility to replace the current condemned Skate Park it is necessary to recruit a specialist consultant with experience of developing and providing the support necessary to deliver the project.
The Chair proposes that Ipplepen Parish Council employ Maverick Skate parks Ltd as a consultant to develop (including consultation and seeking funding) and provide other support required to deliver the project.
The Chair proposes that the Council approves seeking quotes for the removal of the existing skate park.
Proposed: Coun.Palethorpe
Seconded: Coun.Rattlidge
Vote: All unanimous
Action – Clerk to contact and appoint Maverick.
145) APPROVE ASSET REGISTER
All Councillors approved the Asset Register. (All unanimous)
146) DATE OF ANNUAL LITTER PICK
The Annual Litter pick will take place on Saturday 06th April 2024 at 10am, meeting at the Village Hall side room.
147) SUGGESTIONS FOR PARISH ASSEMBLY SPEAKER
Coun.Palethorpe suggested Maverick to come and give a talk about skate parks.
Coun.Rattlidge suggested a local police officer.
148) PUBLIC QUESTION TIME – No comments.
149) To note the date of the next PC meeting: Tuesday 2nd April 2024 at 7.15pm
Meeting Closed at 20.59pm
